Policies to roll-back the state and privatize? Poverty reduction strategy papers investigated

Arbeitspapier

This paper investigates poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs), launched by the International Monetary Fund/World Bank in 1999 as conditions for debt relief and loans. It queries whether PRSPs really represent a shift away from the controversial structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) of the past. Ostensibly PRSPs have a greater focus on poverty reduction, yet this investigation finds little has changed. Existing PRSPs lack essential components such as land reform and gender awareness, while changes with questionable impacts on poverty, such as liberalization and privatization, are promoted as beneficial. The ‘participation’ of civil society groups in drawing up PRSPs is found to be unsatisfactory, as is ‘ownership’ of PRSPs by governments. This paper stands as a critique of PRSPs and their assumed improvement on SAPs.

Object Details

• ISBN: 929190063X
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: WIDER Discussion Paper ; No. 2001/120

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations ; International Lending and Debt Problems ; National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: General ; Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: General
• Subject: poverty reduction ; PRSP ; structural adjustment programme ; IMF ; World Bank ; debt relief ; Armutspolitik ; Schuldenerlass ; Anpassungsprogramm des IWF

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Marshall, Alison ; Woodroffe, Jessica ; Kjell, Petra
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
• (where): Helsinki
• (when): 2001

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/53040
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET